Digital service subscribers are beginning to be offered various types of rich content over their Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connections. Streamed videos, multicast videos, real-time communication, videoconferencing and network-based gaming applications are examples of such rich content. To support such rich content in a manner that is efficient and effective for both the subscriber and the service provider, a minimum level of service intelligence must be available to the service provider for enabling management of subscriber services. Examples of subscriber service management capabilities include real-time/dynamic analysis reporting, provisioning, bandwidth management and application management.
Service management capabilities enabled by service intelligence of conventional network elements are limited in its scope and abilities. For example, Internet Service Provider (ISP) points of presence (POPs) are a conventional network element capable of providing only limited service intelligence on their Internet Protocol (IP) backbone networks. A significant limitation of service intelligence in ISP IP backbone networks is that they do not involve any higher-layer awareness in associated DSLAM access networks. Such higher-layer awareness in associated DSLAM access networks is necessary to manage subscriber services all the way down the network to the end-user. Similarly, Service Selection Gateways (SSGs) that exist in some DSLAM applications are another conventional network element capable of providing only limited service intelligence. In fact, SSGs that exist presently in DSLAM applications are little more ‘portal dashboards’, providing no significant management of subscriber services.
Therefore, facilitating subscriber services management in a manner that overcomes the limitation associated with the conventional approaches is useful.